Cold Weather Prep

The fall and winter months bring rain, sleet, ice and even occasional snow to North Texas making it more challenging to keep your car looking and driving its best. Rain accumulating on our roads combines with dirt and oil and before you know it your nice clean vehicle looks as dreary as the weather.

Washing your car can also be a challenge because detergents and shine agents may not perform as intended in especially cold weather. That being said, it’s important to keep your car clean during winter months because all the dirt, oil and grime that accumulates on your car can also adhere to your paint job. If left alone, it can cause long-term corrosion and damage to the paint job. Washing your car throughout the winter months is important to maintaining your car’s value and appearance. Plus, it just always feels better to drive a clean car, and we can all use a little pick-me-up during the winter.

We’re lucky to not see snow and ice too often in North Texas because salt is one of the leading causes of corrosion to the underside of a car. In parts of the country where snow and ice are more common and deicing salt and other materials are used on major thoroughfares to keep them passable, rust is more common. Here, the main concern we deal with is cosmetic damage resulting from simple neglect of your paint job.

Here are some tips for maintaining your vehicle’s appearance during the winter months.

Drive your car before washing it. Give your car five to 10 minutes of drive time to warm up before running through a car wash or even washing it yourself in the driveway. Allowing the engine and interior to warm up will help to warm the exterior surfaces so that detergents will perform as intended. Driving to Snap Clean will be the perfect warm up to prep the exterior of your vehicle for our awesome tunnel wash.

Wash with warmer water. This is one of the hardest aspects of a DIY wash in the wintertime and why we especially recommend a professional wash during cold weather. Our water supply circulates and is treated with water softening agents to remove spot-causing contaminants. It’s much easier for us to keep our water flowing and a little warmer than what the average homeowner can get out of a hose on the driveway.

Rinse clean. We work hard to make sure that all our taps are clear of mineral deposits and calibrated to rinse off ALL the soap and detergent we use to clean your car. If ever you notice any lingering soap, please let us know so we can address it. Your car should be free of detergent by the time you leave our tunnel.

Do not wash in extreme temperatures. At Snap Clean, we closely monitor the temperatures during the winter months and actually close our tunnel if the temperature reaches 28 degrees or colder. We want our professional grade detergents and shine agents to perform optimally, so we do not wash if that’s not going to happen. If we’re open, rest assured that our entire tunnel is operating at peak performance to protect your vehicle and keep it looking great.